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Northern Ireland manufacturers invest in growth and new jobs

Manufacturing in Northern Ireland continues to grow as a selection of 30 businesses come together to announce investment of over £22million and 282 new jobs.

The 30 firms, supported by Invest Northern Ireland, are from a broad range of disciplines: food to chemicals, pharmaceutical to transport equipment.

Manufacturing Growth – 30 manufacturers have announced they are investing £22m and creating 282 jobs, with 100 of them already in place / Picture: Invest NI

Speaking at an event hosted by Invest NI to recognise the commitment to growth within the manufacturing industry, Invest NI’s Chief Executive Alastair Hamilton said: “Today’s event is an opportunity to highlight some of the investments manufacturing focused businesses are making. The local firms we have here today are from right across Northern Ireland.

“With £1.9 million of support from Invest NI they are making a combined investment of over £22million in our economy. As well as stimulating economic growth there are also new job opportunities, with 282 new jobs being created, which will generate over £6.3million annually in additional salaries for the local economy.”

“These investments show real commitment from businesses to invest in the future”, continued Alastair. “With investment in new equipment, skills and training, new jobs and export development, it is clear that there is real opportunity for growth in manufacturing.”

“SMEs make up 98% of all businesses here in Northern Ireland and are at the very heart of what we do in our manufacturing base. Week in, week out, companies like this continue to work very hard to keep moving forward, to build and grow our business economy and build communities.

“It is encouraging to see the progress and developments being made by firms across all disciplines. Invest NI is offering valuable support to enable these businesses to create highly skilled, well paid jobs and drive innovation and growth in export markets.”

Northern Ireland manufacturing is rich in knowledge, skills and experience, founded on a strong heritage. A large number of manufacturing businesses account for 15 per cent of all local economic output and one in every nine local jobs.

The investments are underway and over 100 of the new jobs are already in place.

Manufacturing plays a huge part in the Northern Ireland economy with the latest HMRC 12 month rolling figures valuing manufacturing exports at just over £8bn.